Steve Talks About the Tragedy of Brain Injuries

what a great life he was leading before 1995-the perfect job and the perfect family living the American Dream. Then in an instant that all change in 1995 when Steven suffered a serious brain injury from a skiing accident. Over time Steve lost his job, suffered a divorce and the humiliation and frustration of not being able to be the dad he used to be. At the time of the skiing accident the children were 3-6-9 years old. He noted that prior to the accident he was an international business traveler, an avid bike rider, played guitar and singer. The brain trauma took all those things away. Steve said, "that in the first 16 years after college, he had three jobs with the last being the "perfect job". Since the injury, in-spite of his dedication and laborious efforts at rehab, he has had 12 jobs since his accidents. Steve said "he is very thankful for his current job that he has had for some time even though he will be unable to return to his prior pinnacle". Such is the nature and impact of a brain injury. It takes away life, as you knew it. According the Bia-ma someone suffers a brain injury every 23 seconds and 5 million or about 2% of the US population will suffer a brain injury. The military alone has reported over 150,000 TBI's. Steve closed his presentation by sharing how proud he is of his three children, 19-22-24 and what they have accomplished by pursuing their education. He also noted that one of the things he hopes he made clear is that each of us need to do all we can to protect ourselves from head injuries and to make sure we do all we can to convince others that head gear is a start to preventing injuries. He said "we need to understand it's better to wear head gear and maybe not look so cool for a few hours then to loose in a few seconds everything that you have worked a lifetime to achieve". Thanks Vera for another great informative and touching program. Steve did and excellent job. Vera also brought her daughter Terri Gaffney as her guest today. Terri is an RN at the Neuro ICU at the U Mass Medical and has a lot of experience/exposure to TBI patients.